Just over £4bn was added to the value of AstraZeneca PLC, whose shares opened 2.25% higher after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit and revenue.
Adjusted earnings of US$1.92 per share on sales of approximately US$10.9bn outpaced the average analyst estimate of US$1.71 per share on sales of around US$10.6bn.
CEO Pascal Soriot attributed the solid performance to the company's robust sales in emerging markets, which grew 22% to US$3.1bn on a constant currency basis, excluding Covid products.
Sales of the company's best-selling cancer drugs, Tagrisso, Imfinzi, and Lynparza, and its rare blood disorder drugs Soliris and Ultomiris, exceeded analyst expectations.
AstraZeneca stood by its 2023 forecasts. Excluding Covid vaccine sales, it expects revenues to grow in the low-to-mid double-digit percentile.
Turning to the drug pipeline, Soriot said momentum continued to replace top-selling products that will become vulnerable to copycat competition later this decade.
He pointed to positive phase III results for a Lynparza-plus-Imfinzi combination in ovarian cancer, Imfinzi in lung cancer, and promising new data for Enhertu across a range of cancer types.
“Additionally, in the year to date we have started six new phase III trials and are on track to initiate 30 over the course of 2023,” he added.
AZ’s stock opened 266p higher at £121.10.